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Russia goes big in Syria. The US hits a hospital in Kunduz. Hillary flips on the TPP. An epic flood in South Carolina. Our weekly news roundtable goes behind the headlines.

A manhole begins to spill over with floodwaters as high tide approaches at Dorchester Road at Sawmill Branch Canal in Summerville, S.C., Thursday, Oct. 8, 2015. (AP)

Chaos in the House Republican caucus this week as heir apparent to John Boehner, Kevin McCarthy, bails out with a bombshell announcement leaving the GOP deeply divided and no one with any idea who will be Speaker of the House, second in line to the Presidency. "Banana republic," said one Republican. In Syria, Russia cranks up the attacks and the US pulls the plug on training rebels. We’ve got Hillary Clinton going negative on the TPP. Miles of flooding woe in South Carolina. And a furor in fantasy football. This hour On Point, our weekly news roundtable goes behind the headlines.-- Tom Ashbrook

The Atlantic: Some Thoughts on Syria — "It’s one thing to tussle with Russia for a free, Western-oriented Ukraine. It’s very different to outright fight them on behalf of nobody at all. So if we want Russia out, maybe we should start by figuring out why Russia is 'in'—and whether there’s an acceptable way to meet that goal. Maybe Russia’s goals are so maximal that there is no agreement possible."

POLITICO: Clinton defection complicates trade pact’s path — "The Obama administration’s uphill battle to win congressional support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement got tougher Wednesday after Hillary Clinton, a former administration official who once embraced the deal, came out against it. Clinton’s defection means the White House will have to work even harder to keep a handful of Democrats on board for the pact and could give Republicans more leverage to press concerns about details of the agreement that they oppose."